Looking to God
When we trust in God, we experience happiness and joy in all aspects of our lives, from our daily comforts to our daily duties.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about the happiness found in trusting the Lord, emphasizing that when God is our ultimate focus and we can declare Him as our God, everything in life takes on new meaning and joy. Daily comforts become opportunities for thanksgiving, challenges are seen as tenderly designed by God for our growth, and even the simplest tasks hold deep significance when done in acknowledgment of God's love. The earth, the air we breathe, and the sun shining above all become reminders of God's encompassing love. Through faith, hope, and love, we experience a foretaste of the eternal joy awaiting us in the presence of our Almighty God.
Text
Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
--PROVERBS 16:20
THIS world of ours is a happy world, so that God is our end, so that we can say to Him, "Thou art my God." Then everything takes new hues of joy and love. Our daily comforts have a soul in them, for they abound in thanksgiving; our daily infirmities or crosses have a special joy in them, because they are so tenderly fitted to us by the medicinal hand of our God; the commonest acts of life are full of deep in.terest, because their end is God; daily duties are daily joys, because they are something which God gives us to offer unto Him, to do to our very best, in acknowl.edgment of His love. It is His earth we walk on; His air, we breathe; His sun, the emblem of His all-pene.trating love, which gladdens us. Eternity! Yes, that too is present to us, and is part of our joy on earth. God has given us faith to make our future home as certain to us, as this our spot of earth; and hope, to aspire strongly to it; and love, as a foretaste of the all-surrounding, ever-unfolding, Almighty love of our own God.
--E. B. PUSEY
Sermon Outline
- The Happiness of Trusting in God
- The Presence of God in Our Lives
- The Role of Faith, Hope, and Love in Our Joy
- Faith as a means of certainty in our future home
- Hope as a strong aspiration for our future home
- Love as a foretaste of God's all-surrounding love
Key Quotes
“Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“It is His earth we walk on; His air, we breathe; His sun, the emblem of His all-pene.trating love, which gladdens us.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- Recognize God's presence in your daily life and seek to do your daily duties as acts of worship and joy.
- Cultivate a sense of eternity in your life by living in light of your future home with God.
- Trust in God's love and care for you, and rely on Him for guidance and provision.